I will be continually updating this thread with information about After Earth.

It is intentionally locked to prevent important information being lost in a sea of player questions or remarks. If any of my players (or lurkers) have any queries/suggestions regarding what is contained herein, please post them in the Player or Visitor's Forum (OOC).

Frequently Asked Questions
What follows are a few of the questions that have regularly been asked of After Earth. I will be addressing each point in more detail further down the line, but for now, I'll summarise.

Q. What is After Earth?A.After Earth is a custom RPG setting set sixty-six years after the destruction of Earth at the hands of a terrible, enigmatic being (or species) known by other sentient races as "The Great Shadow." By virtue of Britain's advanced technology (which was based upon the remains of a salvaged alien craft), a small number of humanity were able to escape the planet before it was destroyed, and have since journeyed out into the reaches of deep space, looking for a new home.

After some years, humanity discovered a number of alien species, most of which had dealings with an organisation called the Trade Council. This group had access to a number of jump gates, allowing for faster-that-light travel between the various systems, which were used to supply the various alien home worlds with a means of interstellar trade. Any government, corporation or group which agreed to obey the rules of the Council were granted access to these gates, and were given the assurances that the Council would act as a mediator in all approved trade agreements, thus ensuring that both parties held up the end of their bargain.

Having been able to terraform a number of worlds (again thanks to their alien-influenced technology), humanity were able to formalise a new home under the leadership of a government based largely upon the former English Parliament. The core world, baptised 'Gaia', houses this governing body, which set about establishing contact with the Trade Council whilst simultaneously working towards creating the Gaian Defence Force and Gaian Defence Fleet.

Although humanity experienced strained relations with some of the alien races, time and experience allowed them to come to terms with one another. Mankind received registration with the Trade Council, and began to blossom under various trade agreements with numerous races. There are, however, more than a few individuals who would rather see humanity be isolated from the Council: some fear that humanity's presence could provoke another appearance from the Great Shadow -- an entity or species that everyone feared and no-one understood -- whilst others merely resent how well established Mankind has become in so short a time. And now that there are whispers that a Representative of Gaia could be accepted onto the Trade Council's ruling board (made up currently of three of most influencial and powerful races in the Known Galaxy), tensions have only worsened.

Q. What is After Earth based on?A. After Earth has been influenced by a great many different science-fiction settings. The three greatest influences to it, however, are Babylon 5, Star Wars and Mass Effect.

Q. What rule system does After Earth use?A. After Earth is played using West End Games' D6 Space system.

Q. When is the game set?A.The date in which the game will begin will be 66 A.E. (or 2082 A.D.). The alien vessel which allowed for humanity's rapid technological advancement crash landed in the English Cottswolds in the year 2002, and the destruction of Earth took place 14 years later (2016 A.D.).

Q. Am I limited to playing only a human?A.No. Whilst the game's background focuses primarily on humanity's rebirth into the Commonwealth, players can choose to portray one of the established alien races, or even offer designs for his own (though any new races need to be approved for play by the GameMaster). Rules for creating new races can be found in the D6 Space rulebook, and should be submitted via Private Message to me personally. If the race is accepted for the setting, then its details will be posted in this Setting Information section.

Q. Can I play as a para-being, someone who can use psionics or anything out of the ordinary?A. It depends on what you're after. Only a very few alien races have displayed any psionic potential (one of these races, in fact, sits upon the Trade Council), and whilst humanity itself has begun to discover individuals with psionic potential among their own number, such persons are carefully watched and monitored.

Frequently Asked Questions (Part 2)
What follows are a few of the questions that have regularly been asked of After Earth. I will be addressing each point in more detail further down the line, but for now, I'll summarise.

Q. What method of creation are you using for characters?A. I use the Defined Limits option for After Earth: every player creates his or her character using 18 attribute dice, and 7 skill dice. No single skill can have 3D allocated towards it. Previously I had been using the Funds attribute in place of an actual number of credits per player, but this might also be subject to change.

Q. What kind of weapons and armour does humanity and the alien races have access to? Blasters?A. At the time of the campaign's beginning, humanity still largely makes use of ballistic weaponry, though the Gaian Defence Force and Fleet have been issued energy weapons. Other high clearance operatives and organisations also have access to this kind of technology.

Alien races have their own technology and weaponry, but several manufacturers supply many different registered races of the Trade Council. It is no uncommon, therefore, to see various races carrying the same type of rifle or explosive.

Q. How do you intend on getting all our characters together at the start of the game?A. All characters begin the game as part-owners (or crew members) of a Free Trader vessel. Players will need to modify their backgrounds where necessary to provide reason and means for their characters to begin the game in such a position.

Q. What is a Free Trader vessel?A. A Free Trader vessel is a ship that is owned by one or more individuals who have registered with the Trade Council under their own authority. They accept contracts and missions where they can find them, but do not act on the authority or behalf of any corporation or government.

Q. What language do the aliens, and humanity, speak? How does everyone communicate with one another?A. The principal language used by humanity is English. Although there are many survivors who speak different languages, such as French, Italian, Spanish, etc., English is the primary dialect used within the Commonwealth, and everyone is taught it throughout their education.

Each alien race possesses their own individual language, or means of communication.

One of the benefits of registering with the Trade Council is that, provided it is your government that is signing on, or a corporation or group large enough to represent a large majority of your race, your language is added to the Council's Universal Translator units. These devices are small machines that are attached to the ear or audio receptor of the individual. All races, upon registering with the Council, have their language incorporated into the devices, which can give (sometimes rough) translations that are then passed onto the brain of the Translator's user. This way, any race that has registered with the Trade Council can communicate with any other (registered) race, provided that both individuals are in possession of one of these units.

Q. How is humanity's government structured?A. The Commonwealth, which is the term used to describe all of the planets that are home to humanity, adheres to the ruling of the Parliament, which is housed on Gaia. This Parliament is made up of elected representatives from each planet, and is chaired by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is elected by the Members of Parliament every time a new cabinet is assembled (every three years).

Another elected individual is the Gaian Representative, who acts as humanity's ambassador to the Trade Council. This individual is always chosen by the Parliament, and reports directly to the government.

Q. How is the Gaian Defence Fleet structured?A. The Gaian Defence Fleet, like so much else, is based largely upon British structuring. In this case, the rank system and classes of starship are taken from the 21st century's Royal Navy.

The above ranks apply only to the Gaian Defence Fleet; the Gaian Defence Force uses a different series of ranks, although difference is still shown to someone from the alternative Defence branch who holds a higher rank than your own.

All starship names are prefixed by the acronym 'GDS', or 'Gaian Defence Ship'. The classes of starships are:

Frigates:
The primary defensive ships used by the Gaian Defence Fleet.

Destroyers:
Larger than the frigates, the Destroyers are slower but carry much greater firepower.

Fighter Carriers:
Only slightly smaller than the Destroyers, Fighter Carriers contain squadrons of various fighter craft. Fighter Carriers are always escorted by Destroyers, or a large number of Frigates.

Assault Ships:
These ships are used to deploy and recover Gaian Defence Forces from a planet. They are armed, though not overly so, and are capable of traversing a planet's atmosphere without difficulty.

Gaian Auxiliary Ships:
Given the prefix of GAS, these highly valuable ships are responsible for resupplying active Gaian Defence Ships. Manned by civilian crews, these ships possess no armaments, and are therefore escorted wherever they go.